After Midnight
by Xanderette43
Summary: Kaylee can't sleep... JayneKaylee
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **AfterMidnight

**Author:** Christine

**E-mail:** Kaylee can't sleep...

**Pairing: **Jayne/Kaylee(I just can't get enough) with mentions of Simon/Kaylee.

**Rating:** R

**Disclaimer:** Once again its been brought to my attention that I don't own anything Joss has created, I just wish I did. Firefly is his and Mutant Enemy's, I just like to play with his characters for a while to amuse myself.

**Spoilers:** Takes place after _Objects in Space_. In this version, I chose to have Inara stay on Serenity unlike what she says at the end of _Heart of Gold_.

**Notes:** The names of planets that I use in my story actually are ones that the writers on the show came up with. There's a picture of the worlds of _Firefly_ online; I uploaded it to my server so you can view it _here_ if you want to.

**Prologue **

This was the time of night she loved. Well after everyone else on the ship turned in for the night, she was still up checking over her beloved Serenity, making sure all her parts rotated just right. She used to try to sleep sometimes without checking the engine room every night if she was really tired, but would only be forced to toss and turn restlessly before giving up and leaving her room to double check on her ship. After awhile, she realized that the engine room gave her a sort of peaceful, calming feeling; even though it was the loudest room in the ship. Just knowing each piece was working correctly let her relax a bit.

Except for tonight. Tonight even the clanking of the ship that usually calmed her nerves wasn't doing anything. She sat there in her multicolored hammock swinging back and forth staring at the engine and tried to wish away the tears that were welling up behind her pretty hazel eyes. She knew why she was upset, although she tried numerous times to deny it to herself. Today was the day she realized that she and Simon were just too different to ever have any sort of relationship other then friendship. They were from two different worlds, literally. He was upstanding and proper, and she was a former poor farm girl, now a poor mechanic. He spoke proper English, and she never got the education to speak like he did. She said 'ain't' and he said 'is not'. She was beneath him, and she knew it. He would argue with her that he's in the same boat she is now. No money to speak of and no longer a licensed doctor, but that didn't matter. He still acted like he had money, and still practiced his medical expertise on the ship, so in her book it was virtually the same thing.

It also didn't help that lately her dreams had been waking her in the night. Not nightmares, not even close, but Kaylee almost wished they were nightmares instead of the lust filled dreams that filled her subconscious. It would have made sense for her to have been dreaming of Simon in that way, and truth be told, she did sometimes. But in addition to realizing her relationship with him was going nowhere fast, she was starting to dream of someone else. When she woke breathless in the night with a light sheen of sweat on her body, the name that passed her lips didn't start with an S. It started with a J.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part One**

With little more then a sigh, Kaylee leaned over the side of her hammock and placed her bare feet on the cold cement floor of the engine room. She suppressed the shiver that wanted to travel down her spine and as quietly as she could, walked out of the room, shutting it behind her. She knew that she should be getting to bed, especially since she had to be up earlier in the morning to help Wash fix up the small hovercraft they had recovered from the junk yard on Deadwood, but she was afraid to let her subconscious take over again. She wasn't really sure why all of the sudden she was dreaming about Jayne. Sure she was attracted to him, who wouldn't be? She remembered them flirting briefly when they had first met a few years ago, but when Mal gave his patented stern look and threatened to throw Jayne out of the ship while in space, it had promptly ended. Of course, there was the occasional extra long look in her direction and a crude comment or two thrown her way, but other then that her relationship with Jayne was strictly platonic. Or as platonic as it could be; it being Jayne and all.

Kaylee tiptoed through the hallway that held everyone's bunks and slipped into the kitchen. She was crossing her fingers that she still had at least one more strawberry left in the fridge. Inara had kindly bought them for her while she was on Boros. If there was one thing in all the verse that could help lift her spirits it was strawberries. And a good roll in the sack of course, but Kaylee knew that wasn't on the agenda for tonight. As she opened the refrigerator door and squinted a bit at the bright light that filtered out, her hopes sunk. Not only were there no strawberries, but the small wooden container that held them was gone too. She sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that night and nearly jumped to the ceiling when she heard a voice behind her.

"Lookin' for these?"

She flipped around and saw Jayne standing there in nothing but red boxers holding her box of strawberries. She could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest, largely due to the fact that he nearly scared her out of her pajamas, but another due to him standing there nearly naked holding her favorite food.

"Wuh de ma!" Kaylee braced herself against the refrigerator door. "Jayne, you scared me half to death!"

Jayne shrugged. "Sorry. Heard you patterin' around up here and figured these were what you'd be after." He walked closer to Kaylee and handed her the box.

Kaylee smiled as he placed the box in her small hands. She still marveled at the difference in their sizes. She knew she was short and small but Jayne? Jayne was nearly 6'5 and weighed over twice her weight. As she took the box from his big, muscular hands, his fingertips brushed her open palm and her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. Why were all these feelings just coming out now? Had she forced her attraction to him all these years to the back of her mind? He was so different from Simon; physically and mentally. Simon was a gentleman; sometimes too much of one, but Jayne... Jayne was not a gentleman. He was rude, crude, greedy and mean most of the time. But there was this softness to him, a sort of puppy dog quality that he showed every so often to Kaylee that made her believe that there was more to him then meets the eye.

"Thanks Jayne." She nervously squeezed the box with her hands. "So, what are ya doin' up so late? Can't sleep?"

He shrugged again. "Dunno. I took myself a shower and got a cravin' so I raided the fridge."

Kaylee bit back a laugh. "That time of the month?"

Jayne glared at her. "You callin' me a woman?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Good, cause I ain't." Jayne crossed his arms over his chest and stood there like a little boy who was just spanked.

Kaylee placed her hand on his upper arm for a moment and immediately wished she didn't. She could feel the rock hard muscles that he worked hard to keep everyday on his weight bench. "Believe me Jayne I know you ain't no girl."

Jayne casually noted her hand on his arm. "Good." He turned to walk away, but stopped after a moment and looked back at Kaylee. "Sorry I gone and took your strawberries from ya without askin'."

A smile broke out on Kaylee's face. It wasn't too often that Jayne apologized for anything. In fact, she really couldn't think of the last time that happened - if it had at all. "Its okay, I don't mind sharin'." She opened up the refrigerator again and took out a small tub. "Betcha didn't know that they came with this though."

"What's that?" Jayne's interest was piqued.

Kaylee popped open the top, dipped her finger in and came out with a generous amount of whipped cream. She held her finger up to him for a moment and just as he began to move forward towards her, she licked it off her finger herself. She knew she was being a tease, but to be honest, she knew that was what Jayne liked. She wasn't sure if what she was doing had any effect until she saw his expression darken to what Kaylee liked to call his 'Angry Puppy' face. Only to herself of course. And maybe Inara.

"Gorram it girl, what you think you're doin?"

"I ain't doin' nothin' Jayne." Kaylee shyly shrugged and held the box of strawberries and the tub out for him. "Want some?"

Jayne shook his head, and Kaylee was slightly disappointed. There was only one way to go from here. She didn't know why she was doing this; Mal would be angry as all Hell if he found out she was flirting with Jayne again. Maybe it was just lust, but maybe there was something in Jayne that she needed right now. She needed comfort; she someone to hold her and tell her she was as pretty as all the stars in the 'Verse. As much as she wanted to deny it, she needed a little something else too. It really was not helping that all he had on was boxers.

"All right, more for me then." She put the wooden box and tub on the countertop and took a strawberry out. As she dipped it into the whipped cream, she snuck a glance at Jayne and hid a smirk when she realized he was getting fidgety. As she brought the plump strawberry to her lips, she closed her eyes in exaggeration and tilted her head back for effect. As she chewed and swallowed, she opened her eyes and saw that while he wasn't actually drooling, he wasn't far off. She started to grin when he took her by surprise and pushed her against the counter.

"Kaylee, what in the Hell are you tryin' to do to me?"

She wasn't sure whether to be honest, or shrug and not say anything. "Just havin' some fun is all. You should try it sometime Jayne."

Jayne's eyes narrowed. "Your version of fun and my version of fun ain't the same thing."

"Oh, I think they just might be." Kaylee placed her finger on his chest and slowly trailed it down towards his navel.

Jayne shook his head. "Kaylee, its not that ya ain't making me all wound up cause ya are, but what happened to Genius Boy and your sudden fascination with him?"

Kaylee sighed. "It ain't in the cards for him and I. We're just... too different. He's all kinds of levels above me Jayne. He's a doctor for cryin' out loud, he's in a whole 'nother class. He's uptight and won't tell me how he feels, and every time I try 'n talk to him about it, he either stays tightlipped about everythin' or he tells me it ain't proper at a time like his; a time where he has to protect his little sister." She sighed again and her shoulders sagged.

Jayne placed his hand on her shoulder. "You know you ain't beneath him. He might be a doctor 'n all that fancy stuff, but that don't mean nothin' out here in the black. You were born knowin' how to fix machines Kaylee, he had to go to school to learn how to be a doctor. You have yourself a gift, and that don't make you any less then him. In fact, that makes you better then him." She looked up at him and a small smile emerged. " 'Sides, you're much prettier too."

Jayne had thought at very most, Kaylee would hug him. He was used to that. What he wasn't used to was her lips. As soon as the words left his mouth, she stood on her tiptoes and her lips were on his... and he was kissing her back. It had been a whole number of years since he kissed anyone. He had a whole no kissing policy when he had his way with the bar matrons on the outer planets. There was a reason for this, but he didn't want to think about Herpes Helga as they called her right now to be quite honest.

Right now he tried to focus on what was happening right now. Kaylee was kissing him, and he was reacting to her right back. He had forgotten how much he loved that feeling of someone inside his mouth, almost claiming it as their own for a short period of time. It was sexy, and Jayne definitely didn't have a problem with sexy. As her tongue danced with his, he could feel her hands on his back, her fingertips tracing a pattern down towards his boxers. He broke the kiss abruptly, he had to know something before things went too far.

"Kaylee, are ya here with me cause you can't have Doc?"

Kaylee shook her head. "It ain't like that Jayne. I can't say I didn't like him cause I did, but I always did have a thing for someone else on his ship, and it ain't the Captain or Wash."

Jayne looked at her quizzically. "Inara?"

Kaylee rolled her eyes. Jayne was a lot of things, and being dense beyond belief was one of them. "No you big lug, you!" She slapped his arm playfully.

Jayne's lips curved into a near smile. "Oh yeah?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So all that time we was flirtin' a few years back wasn't cause you was just bored and needed somethin' fun to do?"

Kaylee rolled her eyes. "You know I ain't like that Jayne. I may have been a tease tonight, but its only to get what I really want."

Jayne wished that he wasn't just wearing boxers right now because in a second or two she'd know that all her teasing troubles was definitely having an affect on him. "If ya don't mind my askin', when did you start really wantin' me lately?"

"You're in my dreams almost every night." Kaylee shyly ducked her head down for a moment.

Jayne's mouth went dry. "What happens in 'em?"

Kaylee chewed her lip. "A little bit of everythin'."

"Everythin' including those strawberries and cream over there?"

"You could say that... course we weren't sittin' at the table eatin' them and talkin' if that's what you mean."

Jayne bent down and captured her lips with his for a quick kiss. "No Darlin', I wasn't plannin' on talkin' much longer." With one arm, he picked Kaylee up and placed her on top of the table. "I am though, plannin' on usin' this table right now." He grabbed the tub of whipped cream from the counter and sauntered back over to her. "But not for the kind of eatin' we usually do here."

River bolted up in bed. Another nightmare. Images that didn't make sense, and men with blue gloves who told her she was all sorts of things she wasn't. Everything was upside down in her dreams, and there was nothing she could do to turn them right side up. She threw off the covers and walked quietly as to not wake Simon. A drink of water would help. She was almost to the kitchen when she heard two distinct voices drifting out from the room. Tiptoeing closer, she peered around the door frame and her eyes grew wide when she saw Jayne moving above Kaylee on the kitchen table, naked and smeared with whipped cream. Her hands flew to her mouth to keep in any sounds that might escape and as quietly as she could, she ran back to her bunk.

... To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Two**

Kaylee's eyes slowly flickered open as she shifted slightly in her bed. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, she suddenly realized that it wasn't her bed she was sleeping in. As she moved to turn to her other side, she felt the heavy arm draped over her waist. She could just make out the silhouette of Jayne sleeping peacefully, his head half off of his pillow and his ratty old blanket pulled up to his neck. She smiled when she saw that his cheek had dried whipped cream on it. As she lay back down on the mattress, she placed her hands over his arm and stroked it gently. She wasn't sure what would happen when he woke up. Would he be his old Jayne self and act like it was nothing to him, or would he act like he genuinely cared for her? Her small smile disappeared. Kaylee couldn't help thinking that she might have made a mistake. She wanted to be with Jayne, but she honestly wasn't sure how he felt. She glanced up at the ladder leading up to the main hallway. Speaking of how people would feel, she was nearly terrified out of her work boots what the crews' reactions would be; especially Mal. He'd put a bullet through Jayne's brain quicker then she could spit if he found out. He'd think Jayne took advantage of her, when it was actually the other way around.

As Kaylee glanced at him once more, she decided she would rather keep this a secret; at least for little while. Judging from the lack of footsteps upstairs, she realized everyone was most likely still asleep. She figured that she'd take a shower and stay in her room until Wash was up and ready to work on the hovercraft. Kaylee little by little began to move off the bed, as she gently picked up Jayne's arm off of her and placed it at his side. She was almost off of the bed when she felt two strong arms around her waist, dragging her backwards.

"Where do ya think you're goin' Miss Kaylee?"

She giggled; his hands were around her stomach and inadvertently tickling her. "I was just goin' to take a shower. I've got bits of strawberry and cream still on me you know."

She felt his hot mouth on the small of her back. "Well, somethin' tells me that you don't much feel like being in my bed no more."

Kaylee closed her eyes and tried her best not to be seduced back into his bed. She turned around suddenly and looked at him. "Jayne, its not that... I just didn't want you wakin' up and lookin' at me and feelin' like you made a mistake is all." She looked down at his blanket and bit her lower lip.

His hand rested on her upper thigh. "Kaylee, what makes you think that I'd be wishin' I hadn't been with you last night?"

She shrugged. "I just thought you might think it was a one night thing is all. I really like you and I've got all these feelings just swimming around up here," she pointed to her head. "- I just thought that maybe you didn't feel the same way."

His hand squeezed her leg tenderly. "Course I do." He sat up in his bed and brushed a stray piece of hair out of Kaylee's face. "I ain't usually spilling my guts like this, but you're the only girl I've known to ever make my heart beat faster then any heist I've been on." He looked down a moment, but brought his eyes back up to look into hers. "I've been with lots and lots of women Kaylee, probably some too many, but they haven't meant a damn to me so much as a quick release. You though; you're a whole lot more then that."

Kaylee could feel her eyes brimming with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. No one had ever said anything remotely sentimental like that to her. Even though it wasn't the classical tale that she'd read about in fairy tales, Jayne in his own way had just professed his love for her. And for Jayne, that was absolutely extraordinary. He opened his mouth to continue, but was quickly silenced by Kaylee's lips. She could feel herself being lifted up onto his lap, and her bare legs wrapped around his waist as his tongue ran across her bottom lip. She moaned softly into his mouth, and closed her eyes and let the tears fall as they moved in rhythm on his bed.

For the first time in his life, Jayne finally knew what it meant to give yourself to someone completely.

It was nearly noon when she and Wash took a break from fixing the hovercraft to have lunch with the crew. Even though she chatted with Wash the whole time, her mind had been on Jayne. Before tonight, she knew that he had the ability to feel emotions, but she never would've thought that he'd actually show them. After their second time, she was going to go shower, but he wouldn't let her go. So instead she fell asleep again, this time with her body pressed up against his, her head on his shoulder and her legs between his. When they awoke again, the crew was up and bustling around the ship. Kaylee had convinced Jayne to go up there and make sure the coast was clear. When he waved her up, her small feet skittered up the ladder faster then she had ever gone before. She was halfway to her bunk when she turned around and ran back to Jayne, kissing him full on the mouth before running back and pushing her ladder open. She quickly slid down it and he stared after her; amazed he finally had the one gorram thing on the ship he wanted more then anything else.

Everyone had taken his or her seats around the table in the kitchen when Kaylee came in, her hair still damp from her second quick shower that morning. She tried to hide a smile that threatened to creep up upon her face when she saw that there was a chair next to where Jayne was seated. She sat down and out of the corner of her eye she noticed him looking at her with his come hither stare. She tried focusing on the table, and then realized that they hadn't exactly cleaned up very well from the night before. She could see tiny strawberry juice stains and patches of dried white substance. She bit her lip nervously and prayed it was only dried whipped cream. She glanced up at Jayne again and saw that he was noticing the stains on the table himself.

"- So I was telling Kaylee that we should just trash the secondary primer cord cause to be honest, I don't think it would last a day once we start up that engine, and it can't really be patched. Right Kaylee? Kaylee?" Wash looked at her tilting his head to the side, as was everyone else.

Kaylee snapped out of her staring contest with the table. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, definitely need a new one of those, don't wanna be scrapin' the ground instead of hoverin' over it."

Mal gave her a funny look as he took another biscuit from the bowl. "And just how much does one of those things cost?"

Kaylee opened her mouth to respond, but her words were cut short by the feeling Jayne's hand on her thigh. "Um, uh... like 12.50 Captain, not bad at all," she choked out.

"Kaylee, you all right over there?" Mal had that look he got when he knew something was up. Which was pretty much every other day, Kaylee thought.

She cleared her throat. "I'm fine Captain, right and shiny."

Mal wasn't buying it, but decided to leave it alone for the moment. He saw the empty chair next to Book. "Where's River?"

Simon looked up from his plate. "She told me she needed to sleep a little more, I don't think she got much rest last night. She said something about disturbing noises in the kitchen," he shrugged. "I think I may need to change her meds again."

Kaylee almost choked on her food. River heard she and Jayne in the kitchen? She nibbled on the bottom of her lip. She hoped River only got the audio version, and not the visual. She heard Jayne chuckle quietly under his breath and she discreetly kicked his foot underneath the table.

Mal opened his mouth to say something when River walked into the room. Simon turned in his chair and saw her staring at the table. "River, come sit down and have something to eat."

Book began to pull her chair out for her when she started to backpedal. "Can't."

Simon looked at her quizzically. "Why not?"

She shook her head. "The room is full of noise." River crossed her arms and glanced at Jayne and Kaylee. "It smells like strawberries and sweat."

Kaylee blanched while Mal looked at Simon. "I best believe you change her meds as soon as possible Doc. She is clearly going off her rocker."

Inara looked over at Kaylee. She always thought of her when strawberries were mentioned, they were her favorite thing in the 'Verse. She saw the younger girl pale, and look down at her plate. Confused, she looked back at River, who was now staring at Jayne. Inara glanced at Jayne and saw that he too was looking elsewhere. Why did the two of them have such guilty looks on their faces? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, it took everything in her not to slap her hand to her mouth. Of course.

Before Simon and Mal started to argue over River's condition, Inara spoke up. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to excuse myself to do some things. Kaylee, could you help me with something in my shuttle for a moment?"

Kaylee's fork clattered to the table and she was up before she even responded. "Sure Inara, let's go!" She walked hurriedly past the crew and was out of the kitchen before Inara even stood up.

The crew looked at each other with the same confused look while River looked at Kaylee's empty seat and back to Jayne. "Red is a good color on you."

Jayne choked on his biscuit.

To be continued...


End file.
